There are many things that make up the life of the church that many people have questions about. In order to better serve you, we've compiled a few of our practices that are most often asked about. We hope that it is helpful. If you need further clarification on anything or have a question concerning something that is not listed here, please contact the church.

Communion

Jesus instituted the "Lord's Supper" in Luke 22:7-23. It is a chance for us to remember, embrace and celebrate what God has done for us through the death of Jesus on the cross. The juice we drink represents the blood of Christ that forgives our sins and the bread that we eat represents his body which imparts new life to the believer. We believe the uniqueness and centrality of Christianity is summed up in the death of Christ and therefore seek to practice communion often as it reminds us of the importance of what happened on the cross. You do not have to be a member of our church to participate in communion, but due to the meaning and intimacy of the Lord's Supper we do ask that you have placed your faith in Christ. We also leave it up to the discretion of parents on whether or not to serve their children the communion elements. If you have any questions regarding communion, please contact the pastoral staff.

Baptism

Baptism is introduced by Jesus in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19. One of the very last things Jesus said to His disciples was to baptize new disciples. If this is the last thing Jesus said before He went back to Heaven then it must be pretty important. The heart of baptism is the fact that Jesus wants His followers to publicly declare they belong to Him. Baptism simply means that we are publicly celebrating our new life in Christ and that we want to follow Him. We enter into the waters to represent the death of our old way of life and we come out of the water to represent our new way of life in Jesus. It is an outward sign of an inward change. Baptism is a lot like exchanging rings at a wedding. In a wedding, a man and a woman celebrate their new relationship by exchanging rings to represent their commitment to one another. In Baptism, we exchange our lives with Christ’s life and commit ourselves to following Jesus.If you would like to be baptized, please contact one of our pastors and we'd be happy to connect you with our elders.

Membership

Today, it seems as though people have a choice of simply attending a church or committing to a local body of disciples. As a local body of Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:12-14), we encourage you to investigate becoming a member of our church. For membership we ask that you learn more about who we are and what we believe. We offer a Membership Class quarterly where we review and answer any questions you may have. After attending the class, if you are interested in becoming a member, you will have the opportunity to share your testimony of Jesus as Savior and Lord with one of our elders. If you choose not to become an official member of River of Life, know that you are valued and still welcome at our church. Every ministry area is open to anyone who calls River of Life their church home with the exception of elder and Governing Board member. To fill these positions you must be a member.

Counseling

We want to model our counseling after The Counselor, the Holy Spirit. According to John 14:26, one of the primary jobs of the Holy Spirit is to remind people of what Jesus taught. Through our counseling, we simply want to point out and remind people of what Jesus has already taught us, what He has done for us and what He can do in us! Our modern culture often portrays that to seek counseling is a sign of weakness, but the Bible often says that admitting our weaknesses is a sign of strength. In fact, Proverbs tells us that seeking counsel can lead to safety and success. Therefore, our pastors and elders are here to help in any counseling needs that we can. If you wish to seek one-on-one counseling, martial/pre-martial counseling or reconciliation meditating, please contact the pastoral staff. When dire situations arise or at your request, we'd also be happy to refer you to local professional counseling and/or counseling resources.

Building Use

God has blessed our church with a beautiful building to gather in. We want to be good stewards of it and be a good neighbor to those who might want to use it. It is a great place for school meetings, weddings and parties. While our building is only for use to purposes that match our church vision, we offer it free of charge. For ongoing use, we also ask that liability insurance be purchased. If you would like to use our building or find out more, please contact our church administrator Julie.